This winter, more Indians set to flock visa-free destinations
Thomas Cook India and its subsidiary SOTC are seeing at least 20% growth in bookings for October-December 2023, from a year ago for these destinations, with their customers favouring either no-visa destinations or those offering easy terms or those granting visas on arrival. Thailand is already seeing 30% growth for the upcoming holiday season over November 2022 and January 2023. It waived visa requirements for Indians, allowing 30 days stay from 10 November to 10 May.
Sri Lanka, too, introduced visa-free entry for visitors from India and six other countries, effective until 31 March. Malaysia announced on Monday that it will offer visa-free entry to citizens of India and China for stays of up to 30 days beginning 1 December to boost tourism. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the media that this decision is similar to the initiatives by the other two countries.
Around 70% Indians opt for nearby destinations, according to a report by McKinsey & Co. Prior to covid, India’s outbound tourism was among the fastest-growing in Asia, it said. It has already recovered 61% of pre-pandemic market, with 13 million outbound tourists in 2022.
The report said it could grow to 80 million by 2040. Thomas Cook is witnessing early indications of increased inquiries for the destinations across all customer segments, and its consumer data reveals a strong demand among Indians for “mini-cations", particularly closer-to-home and easy visa destinations. Indians of all demographics, especially ones wanting to utilize the year-end leave, extended weekends and public holidays are planning mini-cations to easy visa short-haul destinations, it said.
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